yesplease

Wait, what? I'm lost. They're charging more for the 3rd & 4th person than for the 1st & 2nd. Someone please explain.

No, I was just saying that sometimes I come across a cheap fair only to find that it's not that great of a deal once you add your 3rd and 4th persons.

By booking 2 rooms your points would add up faster, too, correct?

Wow I need to look into the 2 room thing. An extra bathroom would be so nice. Were you guys able to get connecting rooms?

I've heard of that but couldn't fathom it being true... guess it is.

I've been doing dummy bookings trying to find the best prices for my family of four. Seems like if you get a good rate for the 1st two people they just jack up the cost for the 3rd & 4th so once everything averages out you're not really saving much by booking the lower fares. Any once else notice this? Am I missing something?

Our cruise is 10/29/14-11/6/14. We booked our trip back in Oct 2012 about 2 years in advance! I always try to book as soon as the schedule is released because 1) the price is usually at it's lowest and tends to increase as time goes on and 2) so that we can get our choice of cabins.

 

We always book using a Next Cruise Certificate (which can be purchased onboard any cruise for $100) that covers one of our deposits and pay $100 for the second person when we decide on a date. The NCC also gives us $100 onboard credit for a 7 day cruise. More for longer cruises, less for shorter cruises. This also allows you to pay a total of $200 in deposits ($100 for the certificate & $100 at booking) instead of $250-$450 per person all at once.

 

After booking you have nothing due until final payment date... so you could put money away each payday in savings or I just pay pay every 2 weeks towards my cruise until it is paid off. I normally figure out how many pay days I have until my cruise and thats the amount that I pay.

 

 

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Can I ask if you book directly with RCI then? If so are all the cabins available online when the cruise first gets posted? Also, I didn't think they planned cruises that far out but maybe that's just for the shorter cruises. Is there a way to know when the next cruises, say July of 2015, come out or do they just show up on the website? Sorry, I know that was a lot of questions. And thanks again for such a great review. I just enjoyed every minute even the anticipation!

Question for those in or familiar with Galveston. Are fog issues common this time of year only or are they a concern year round? Coming from the Midwest might need to consider this for future planning.

And they're off!!

Why am I not on that ship??????? :(

Ordinarily when you book a cruise traveling solo you are charged more than the fare quoted per passenger, because you will be occupying a cabin which could carry two revenue-producing passengers. The charge, called "single supplement" generally runs from 25% to 100% of the quoted fare, making sailing solo prohibitively expensive. By booking very last minute - essentially taking cabins which may have gone unsold, I usually got a very low fare with a very low supplement. I would book on line, be sent cruise docs via email hat day, would complete them on line, print them out, and show up at the port like anyone else.

Oh wow I didn't realize that! Dang, that's a rip!

I did it several times from 2002 to 2005 - usually 2 or 3 days in advance - never more than a week. Got some great deals - sailing as a single with no, or very little, supplement.

What do you mean by supplement? And tell me this, you just needed your passport then and everything else the cruise line had? or you filled forms out online?

When I lived in Long Beach and had a few days off, I would often check if the cruise still had cabins left for that days sailing. About 25% of the time it did. I would book at 10 am and be onboard at 2 pm. I didn't have to drive 16 hours to the port as the ship was docked 5 minutes from my home.

It had to be heaven to live close to a port.

Thanks Bob! My thoughts are we'll keep an eye on availability via some of the websites that track that sort of thing. We would possibly not book or pay a dime until 2-5 days before it's scheduled to depart.. If the weather's bad we just won't do it. We would definitely want to go most of the trip one day, get a hotel and either have just a few hours left or actually be in Galveston the night before. I guess I little bit like gambling. To me part of the fun of vacation is the planning and keep and eye on prices is fun to me. As long as there's no paperwork I would be missing, that was my main concern here. Not saying this is for sure what we will do. If a really good price hits I'll snag it, for my dh's job it maybe better to do that, anyway. Thanks!

Thank you! Has anyone here ever done that?

I have a question. We live in the Midwest and plan on driving to the port in Galveston. About a 16 hr drive. I have been watching prices and really feel like I could snag a really good deal last minute, and when I say last minute I mean 2-3 days before the cruise departs. Am I forgetting something that would prevent us from doing this like not having appropriate paperwork from the cruise line?? We would have our passports, time off work etc ready and if the cruise doesn't drop we would either pay what that price was or just wait for another cruise. Any thoughts?? TIA!

What's the temperature in Galveston?? I'm in Nebraska and it's a balmy 5 degrees.

Woke up at 3;47am before the alarm went off, too excited to go back to sleep!

 

Our BFFs spent the night so we're all up, truck's packed & we're on the road at 5:02am.

 

A quick stop for breakfast along the way & hoping to be on the ship by 11:30-noon.

 

More pics to come!

AAhhhh!! So excited for you!! Have fun!!

I haven't figured that out myself. When I looked earlier today it was 50% so it didn't matter - it was the same either way. Not sure why that field isn't labeled on the web page :)

 

 

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I looked it up. It's "an indication of available cabin categories, not ship occupancy." :)

Great question. I was curious about this too. Thank you!

Does RCI ever offer the beverage package as an incentive on new bookings? Celebrity is doing it right now but they have no ships that port out of Galveston. TIA!!

Thanks for doing this!! Looking forward to it!

We will be on the 2/5 sailing and BFF's are staying in a VB which will also be on our cabin crawl.

 

I'm planning to do a pictorial review that will have a ton of pictures. I will start it Wed morning 2/5 on the way to Galveston.

 

Hoping to post the first pics before we leave port!

 

I'll get the info you have requested & report back.

I am hoping to book Navigator for later in the year or 2015. Just sent you a friend request and will be tuning in for your review! Looking forward to it!! TIA

Not having to save for airfare would have us cruising that much sooner! I didn't realize that about the Navigator. The flowrider was a request of my boys! Thank you.

Are WOW sales just emailed to you or are they the limited time sales on the website?

Our first cruise experience was also a land & sea vacation with Disney. Our travel agent suggest Royal for our next cruise & we really enjoyed it. Try not to make comparisons (I know its hard not to). Each line has pros & cons but are enjoyable.

 

I would try the Freedom class for your age kids. It's got a good amount of things to do without being overwhelming like Oasis or Allure.

 

We also do 4 in a room. When you're looking at the deck plans, you want the 2 Pullmans (+ symbol) or the Pullman & sofa (Diamond symbol) avoid the triangle which is the sofa bed.

Ok, good to know!! Thanks so much everyone!

I believe the biggest mistake people make is the 'comparison' issue. There is no other cruise line, like Disney. By nature of the product they offer. Will a RCCl cruise give you and the family a great experience -- absolutely, but only if you 'don't plan on comparing it to the Disney cruise".

 

As pointed out by a previous poster, find the ship that will have great ports of call for you and activities on board for the 13 and 14 year old -- which means one of the larger ships with a more sophisticated Adventurer Oceans program for the teenagers, so they have a way to meet other kids their own age. I can't make any suggestions as far as cabins, DH and I have never cruised with kids. You may need to rely on a travel agent or speak with a RCCL representative for which cabin will accommodate your family the best.

 

As far as the family experience -- from people I know who have traveled with teenagers and much younger kids, they have had a blast on RCCL. I expect you will also.

Thank you!

When you're booking, you will need the deck plans in front of you, as that will show you what kind of bedding is in each cabin. If your boys will share a bed, then you might be able to get away with a sofa bed, as long as it's a double. If they want separate beds, you'll need either a sofa bed and pullman, or 2 pullmans.

 

There's nothing wrong with RCI! You will have a great time, especially on one of the larger ships, like Voyager, Freedom or Oasis class. Tons for your kids to do.

 

You will find the cabins to be a bit smaller on RCI than on Disney. You won't find as many dedicated "adult" areas. Disney's food is a notch better. BUT...overall, I think your family would have a great vacation on RCI OR Carnival! They are truly more alike than different!

My 13 year old offered to sleep on the floor. They just want to cruise again! Food between RCI and Carnival about the same you think??